Multiple Craftonalities

I Never Pre-Wash My Quilting Fabric

Okay, almost never.

I got up one November morning and decided to apply myself to a work in progress that was randomly growing from 4 charm packs and a bit of yardage I had from Moda's Fresh by Deb Strain.

I had some blocks done, some halfway done, some strips cut, and some uncut yardage scattered about my dining room table which is really my craft table because we rarely dine there.

Wouldn't you know it-

I went to take a swallow of my fresh cup of coffee (with cream and sugar), reached over my sewing machine to get the cup, and caught the bottom of the cup as I was lifting it over the machine.

I could have just spilled some of it, but no, the whole cup slipped from my grip and flooded the work table.  It was bad.  It was one of those moments where I was stunned in disbelief for a second or so before I could even react.

All I could do was pre-soak the blocks and pieces, and then put them in lingerie bags through a gentle cycle in the washer.  There are still some dingy areas, but maybe I am the only one who would really notice.

The real issue is - wait for it -

The fabric really does shrink.  This makes it a bit tricky to sew unwashed blocks with the coffeed/washed blocks, but whatever,  I just did it.

I'm free motion quilting it myself, so the fact that this is stained and some of the blocks are smaller than others  really takes the pressure off of me as far as the quilting goes.

I'm still just learning and practicing and I'm cutting myself some slack.  I keep telling myself that I have to see some disappointments before I'll see improvement and the results I really want.

 

 

Charity Baby Quilt

I made this quilt earlier in the year as a charity baby quilt for W.I.C./Women Infants & Children.  Some quilting friends of mine all made baby quilts to donate to this organization.  We all spent a volunteer day at a local church and worked about eight hours at it.  Some of the ladies actually finished their quilts the same day.  I was not among those who finished that day.  Sadly, my little quilt was turned in quite a bit later than most. 

I have been loving some of the quilts I've been seeing that are done on a white background.  There is one in particular that always makes me stop and stare (and mentally drool a little).  It is featured in an add for a New York quilt and yarn shop called Purl Soho, I believe.   They've had a series of ads in the knitting magazines that feature a lot of bold color palettes.  The quilt I'm referring to has a very modern, bold look.  I think it is reds and oranges on a white background sort of done in a bargello style.  That is how I remember it, but I cannot find the ad for the life of me right now.  It often happens that I'll have a memory of something, but when I see it again, it is not what I remembered at all.

That may just be the nature of inspiration.  I will try to remember that instead of feeling like a crazy person when I finally do find that ad and see that it is 95% different from the picture I have in my head right now.

This quilt was an attempt to work with a little brighter color scheme on a stark, white background.  I realize it's a teensy bit risky to use white for a baby quilt, but hopefully it will see some use and enjoyment from the recipient even if it ends up a poster child for Oxy Clean.  I sent it out in the world hoping it puts a smile on some mother's face who maybe would not have had a new baby quilt by other means.

I sketched this out on grid paper I downloaded from the internet.  I didn't get too technical at all.  It was just a rough estimation of where I was heading with it.

I quilted this little charity quilt with my embroidery machine using two designs that came programmed on the machine.  It was a good way for me to get it finished, and I thought it didn't turn out too badly.  I have found a website that has really great looking continuous line, embroidery designs for quilting.  As I recall, they were only a dollar each, but I have never gotten around to purchasing one and trying it out.  It is definitely on my mental to-do list though.

It is a bit of work to keep hooping and moving and hooping the quilt for each medallion, but I don't think it is any more or less tedious than stitch-in-the-ditch quilting would be.

Today is a cold and damp October day in Wisconsin.  I hope some little tyke is cuddled up in it's soft quilty goodness and feeling the love and care I put into this little quilt.

 

 

 

Three Year Quilt

This is my 9-patch exchange quilt that was started in September of 2008.  I finished the top some time ago, and then it got folded up and stuffed in a drawer for a long time.  Poor quilt top.

One of my local quilt shops had a sale the first weekend in September.  The sale was 25% off of backing fabric if you brought in a finished quilt top.  While I was there, I ran into a woman who long arm quilts and offered a very reasonable price, so I picked out some backing fabric with the assistance of my six year old daughter and left the quilt top and backing in the hands of Marge. 

I really wanted this quilted in very small stippling, but the price would have been twice as much as the edge-to-edge pattern I ended up choosing.  It was a kind of a "rock and a hard place" decision because I don't really like the quilt too much.  I can see it's merits, but it is just not to my taste.  The quilt was made from a block swap I joined while attending a quilt show.  The sample quilt at the show was beautiful and was quilted in the very small stippling.  This whole experience was one of those VERY IMPORTANT LESSONS that we often experience when learning a new hobby.

Here's what happened:  The quilt shop had pre-cut packs of 2 1/2" strip sets to make up the 12 blocks each month.  I would go in each month and pick out 2 packs of fabrics that I liked for myself.  I would go home and sew up the requisite 9-patch blocks and then turn them in at the end of each month while keeping 4 for myself.  Then, of course, I would get the swapped blocks.  This particular quilt shop is very friendly and the owner and staff is great, and they are very close to my work and home.  This should make it perfect!  It would, except for the fact that the shop is primarily dedicated to civil war reproduction fabrics and I gravitate more towards bright, light, color combinations.  Purple and yellow or red and teal.  Happy colors.

Looking back, I don't know why I didn't just pull out after the I realized that the blocks I was getting back were all really brown and dark.  I just kept my head down and kept on going.  Once I had all of the completed blocks, I distinctly remember thinking "this looks like throw-up".  Again, I just kept my head down and kept on going.

I struggled a little with the assembly.  Many of the blocks were way off the mark size-wise, but I perservered.  Once I picked out my border fabric and assembled the quilt with the borders, it grew on me a little.  The green-with-gold-accents border seemed to pull it all together.  I was uncertain about whether I was going to try to quilt it myself or pay someone else to do it, so it went into storage.

This brings me back to the sale, the long-arm quilter, and then a week and a half later a finished quilt.  Wait!  Not quite.  I still had to bind the quilt.  I really dreaded the idea of this process on a queen size quilt.  I had used a what I imagine to be a whip stitch when hand sewing the binding on previous quilting projects and was not very thrilled with the process or the results.  This time I did a little research on Mr. Internet because I had heard from various quilting friends that there is a BETTER WAY.

Oh boy, was there.  I found out about the ladder stitch and I actually really enjoyed hand sewing the binding to the back of this queen sized quilt.  I loved the result as well.  It was finished in about a week.  After I dragged it in to work for a day to show-n-tell, I threw it in the washer and then replaced my WHITE bed spread with this 9-patch, block swap beauty.  Ugh!  It's so dark!  Every time I walked in my bedroom it startled me.  I kept telling myself that it was just a big change and I would get used to it. 

It's been about a month and I still haven't.  I'm kind of torn up about it too.  I think I did a good job sewing the blocks together and choosing the border fabric.  I think Marge the long-arm quilter did a beautiful job quilting it.  It feels wonderful to curl up underneath it's quilty weight at night and know that I MADE THIS and I actually FINISHED IT!  It's the fabrics that are the insult to my eyes.

I know the obvious answer is to make another quilt to replace it with, but right now I have other crafty pursuits going on, so who knows when that event might ever transpire, if ever?  The rub is that I'll never know if spending the extra to have the tiny stippling pattern done would have saved this for me.  I know the quilting can really change the look of a quilt, but my best guess is that even that would not have been enough.

Good thing my eyes are closed most of the time that I'm in my bedroom, and I don't think I'll be signing up for any other block swaps in the foreseable future.

On the Road Again

 

Sometimes when I get down and out, I self-medicate by forcing myself to get involved with a crafty project.  For me, it is better than Prozac (or whatever the drug du jour is these days).  Just doing something repetitive and productive helps me shake the blues.  Not all at once, but it starts to get better.

I've been in one of those low periods lately, so last weekend I dug out a quilty project that I began last summer.

 
I spent a few hours on Sunday working on these blocks and finished 5 or 6 more.  Tonight I only sewed for a few minutes, but I'll take it.

 

I think I have had enough of summer, and my thoughts are turning toward cooler fall temperatures.  I haven't forgotten how ugly winter is, but I've never been able to relish summer heat and sun and too-busy-weekends for very long.  I don't have the stamina for it.

Weekends should be for rest, and summer weekends leave me extra exhausted when Monday rolls around. 

I snapped a photo of a beautiful arrangement of flowers that my neighbor brought over to us last weekend.  Now they are starting to wilt a little, so I am doubly glad that I have this pic.

 

J.I.T.

Tahh-dahh!  The Halloween tote was finished on November 1st!  When I made the big announcement to my freshman-in-college-daughter on Sunday; that I had finally finished the Halloween tote, that's what she said...

"Just in time." 

Imagine that- a sarcastic teenager. 

Well, I won't let it ruffle my feathers.  It's not 100 percent done anyway.  So take that, Sarcastic Comment.  The bow is supposed to be hand stitched in a spot and then tacked down.  That is why it appears a little drunken-looking in the photo.  Unfinished plus inattentive photography.  There just is no end to my half-assedness some days. 

I think it is pretty cute.  I think sewing is a skill, that like any other skill, needs to be practiced before excellence is achieved or even approached.  There are spots where the top edge of the lining bunched (just a little) when putting it all together; and the opening that I left in the lining wasn't large enough (apparently) for turning the project right side out when it was finally put together, causing the seam to rip open a few inches.  But I learned things. 

The coolest thing that I learned was that one of my Creative Memories acrylic circles for cropping scrapbook photos was just the right size to cut the fabric circles I needed to cover the buttons.  The rotary cutter whipped right around pretty nicely.  I think it would have gone even more smoothly if I had a slightly smaller rotary cutter than the 45mm.  If I ever need to cut fabric circles again, there's that. 

I also suspect that if I had cut all the pieces out first and then commenced trying to assemble the bag, it might have been more pleasant.  I cut things out as I needed them and made the straps last because, well, it looked boring and I didn't want to do them.  I realize that I have odd, often unexplainable, reactions to certain things, but there it is. 

Actually, once I made the straps I didn't think it was that bad after all.  I don't know why I found them so off-putting. 

 
 
 
I may make another bag after I recover from this one.  I feel a little sad that this wasn't done before Halloween this year, but I am a firm believer in "better late than never" philosophy, and Halloween will come around again in 2010 so it's OK. 

Really, it is.

Right?

Quilted Halloween

The first quilt I made was this Halloween themed, crib sized quilt that I made for my Mom.  She loves Halloween and has been known to leave her Halloween decor up in her craft room all year long. 

It was intended to be a wall hanging, but it ended up being a little large.  It has other flaws as well.  There are a few seams that are not completely secure as I didn't realize that I was sewing with the sewing needle in the left position instead of center position.  This caused some blocks to be smaller than others, and as this was a learning quilt I just partied on with it.  What's the big deal?  Right?

I think it turned out ok and it will probably never see a washing.  Currently it is still folded up in a vinyl zipper bag waiting to be hung on a wall.  I come from good, sturdy, procrastinating stock I guess.  It may never make never make it out of that bag again. 

 

So here it is.  This may be the only place this quilt will ever be sighted.  It was a pretty satisfying first quilt.  I love the fabrics and still have some pieces left that I could make a table runner or smaller wall hanging with.  

Here's to Halloween and fall colors and quilts yet to be made!

 
 

Inspiration

 

A few weeks ago, I visited with my cousin (let's call her Conni to maintain her privacy) (ok, I'm just kidding, her name really is Conni-I just thought that would be funny), and Conni is a quilter.  I would have said that Conni is a quilter like me, but she's not a quilter like me.  She actually makes quilts.  She cuts the fabric out, sews the pieces together, and then she does this amazing thing:  She finishes them.  She finishes them all the way, and then they actually get to use the quilts!  Crazy, I know.

So, I visit with my cousin Conni and I get this crazy idea.  Maybe, just maybe, I could actually finish a quilt too.  One day after I arrived back home, I sat down at my sewing machine and started working on my pinwheel-throw that I have been working on for over a year.  I posted about pinning the quilt sandwich on Thanksgiving Day, 2008.  Lo and behold, if you actually work at this quilting-thing, you make progress.  The next thing I knew, I had the top quilted and then it was just a hop, a skip, and a jump to having the quilt ...  DONE!  This was definitely a new and exciting experience for me.

So now I have an honest-to-goodness, real, live quilt!

 

I quilted this with a simple cross-hatch pattern without marking the quilt top, so there are some drunken looking lines.  I think after washing and drying this will shrink and crinkle enough that it will not be noticeable and if it is...  who cares?  I finished a quilt and right now I find that very satisfying.

 

I owe a debt of gratitude to my cousin and her beautiful quilts for inspiring me to follow through and finish a quilt.  I will now be able to greet fall with a happy heart because I have a new quilt to snuggle up and knit under when the cold weather arrives.

I will admit though, that for my next project I am thinking of just making something small.  Like a doll-sized quilt that I can hang up in my cubicle at work.  I still have not started sewing together the nine-patch blocks from the block swap that I participated in from last August through January of this year.  Those blocks are enough for a queen size quilt.  I don't know if I am ready to take that leap just yet...

Like Sands through the Hourglass...

 

...these are the days of our lives.  The days do go by quickly don't they? 

My oldest daughter graduated from high school this year so the past few months have been busy.  In May I did get a little quilty project done.  It was this table runner that I made from a kit that was purchased from Woodland Quilts at Quilts in the Park last summer in Fort Atkinson, WI.  At least, to the best of my knowledge, that was the vendor that I purchased this kit from.

There are a couple of significant points about this little table runner.  First of all, I started this runner on a Monday afternoon and managed to have it completely finished (COMPLETELY FINISHED) by the following evening.  The second point is that it is the first item that I quilted on my embroidery machine and I am really, really pleased with how well it turned out.  

  

There is a bit of a process involved with all of the hooping required to quilt this on the embroidery machine, but I was so happy with this, it was well worth it.  Once I got the hang of positioning the table runner in the hoop it went along very nicely.  I absolutely could not have been happier.

I made this as a birthday gift for a friend.  She really liked it.  The next time I was at her house she had it right out on the coffee table; upside down I might add.  I pointed out that it was upside down and she just said that she liked that side.  I didn't take a photo of the back (why would I?) but it was a single piece of a different coffee cup printed fabric that is cute.  I could have saved a lot of time by making a simpler table runner, but that's just the way it goes I guess.  Non-crafters just don't always understand what goes into a project.  When they do it's great, but when they don't it is just best to accept it and move on. 

I've started a few other projects here and there but things are still tucked away from the great stash away before the graduation party took place at our home.  I'm sure there are missing bills and any number of things that may not find their way out of hiding for some time.  The fake house does generate a certain number of casualties.  It is all for a good cause though and everything does look nice with the clutter hidden away.

If I wanted to be more honest in accounting for my time the past few months, the truth is that I have been reading a lot.  Really a lot.  I have read all of the books written by Sophie Kinsella and the  first nine of the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich.  I also read a book called Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh, but I don't imagine that there is a web site for that one, but then again, who knows?  I don't manage to get much quilting, knitting, or scrapbooking done while reading though.  It's a real shame.  

Also, my mother and I (along with other various members of our family) are hooked on a card game that is in the Rummy family of card games.  We literally play for hours and hours at a time.  One week we played for four hours on Thursday afternoon and another seven hours on Sunday.  It is a little bit scary the way we get sucked into it and then the day has just gone by.

I will never lack for something to do.  I don't think I could ever manage to get bored.  My life is one big internal debate- always trying to figure out what to do when there are so many great choices to choose from!  

I have to go...  a little person is desperately in need of help assembling a Lego set...   Hopefully I will have more projects to show soon. 

Playing Catch Up

 

After a month of being totally distracted by the holidays and then by knitting projects, I decided I had better try to turn my attention back to my 9-patch block swap.  The queen size quilt calls for 144 of the 9-patches.  I planned on getting started and completing 2 sets on Saturday, but a little game called Wii Play got the best of me.  In my defense, we had a substantial snow fall Friday morning so I spent Friday afternoon clearing 6 inches of snow from our corner lot sidewalk and driveway.  Saturday, I could barely lift a gallon of milk.  Really sad.  I know.

Being so muscle-sore Saturday, I was not very motivated to be doing much of anything.  Sunday morning I woke up feeling quite better.  I started sewing strip sets together around 10:00 am, took a break to cut my husband's hair, and by 3:30 I had my two sets of 12 9-patch blocks along with 2 sets of 24 2-inch squares finished and bagged with labels.  I took them right out to the quilt shop which closes at 4:00.  Each time I drop off 2 sets I pick up 2 swapped sets.  I have not started sewing any of them together yet.  I decided that I am going to wait until I have all 144 blocks before I start sewing. 

The quilt shop has 2-fabric packs ready made with the fabric pre-cut in 2 1/2 inch strips.  Twice a month participants pick up 2 packs of strips and turn in a total of 24 blocks.  Each time I have had enough fabric left over that I have 3 9-patches to keep.  I have been keeping these separate from the block swap patches.  I am planning on making a throw or something with my leftover blocks. 

This is the first block-swap I have ever participated in and it seems strange that I am going to end up with a quilt that I only pieced 24 of the 144 blocks for.  I was having such fun carefully picking out the fabric packs and then I realized that these would make the blocks I was giving away and I would be getting back all the ones I didn't especially care for.  My small quilt will be my  security blanket.  The one I know I like all the fabrics in and that I made all the blocks in myself.

I spent a lot of time and effort trying to make sure I got the scant quarter inch so that my blocks would have precisely the correct measurement called for.  Once I started getting the swapped blocks back, I realized that not everyone was as worried about it.  There were some that were way off.  Really small and not square at all.  I know everyone has their own stance on perfection/imperfection issues.  I view it as a relief of sorts.  I operate under a general assumption that as a new quilter, every other quilter is better than I am at piecing.  Being the recipient of some imperfect squares have given me a little confidence boost that maybe I do a pretty good job.  I am going to need that confidence when I am trying to assemble the quilt top with all of those different sized blocks. 

 

I discovered that "Sewing with Nancy" episodes are available to view on line on her website, so while I was working on the 9-patch blocks I had a couple of episodes playing in the background.  It helped to keep me in the sewing mood.  I even made a start on another set.  I finished another 11 blocks before calling it a night.  Hopefully, I will get back to them today.  I do have a mountain of laundry to do...  but I'm going to try.

I did finish the first of the Valentine's Day-colored Ocean-toes socks and cast on the second one as well.  I need to try to get working on that too.  I also have had time to peruse the new Mason-Dixon Knitting book and am thinking I need to make the Every Day Sweater (I think that is the name of the pattern).  Let's not forget the quilt that is folded up in the corner needing to be quilted and bound.  I would like to finish and use that before winter is over.  I always feel pulled in so many directions.  I'd better get going...

Still Pinning Away

I ran out of safety pins last night while making my quilt sandwich and didn't figure I would be able to buy safety pins anywhere at 9 pm on Thanksgiving day, so the project had to be put on hold until today.  I usually work the day after Thanksgiving and even if I am not working, I would not be among those throngs of people out shopping the Black Friday sales.  This morning though, I had an urgent need for safety pins, and no one will be at the fabric store Christmas shopping anyway, right? 

WRONG...No, Very WRONG

My local Joann Fabric store was swarming with shoppers at 9 o'clock this morning.  I ended up standing in a line 12 shoppers deep and each shopper with a cart full just to purchase my couple little boxes of safety pins.  Now I know why I never venture out the day after Thanksgiving.  It wouldn't be worth it to me even if they were giving the Christmas gifts away.

So today I will try to finish the pinning of the quilt sandwich and then sew the initial stitch in the ditch seams on my throw.  I am going to have to give the rest of the quilting a little more thought because I do sometimes like the simplicity of straight-line quilting a quarter of an inch off the seams, but I recently bought an embroidery machine which has some built in quilt designs so I am a little undecided right now.